Analyzing Captured Sound and Seeking a Match for Temporal and Geographic Presentation and Navigation of Linked Cultural, Artistic, and Historic Content

ABSTRACT

The system and method described here relate to the effective organization of a media database. The media database can include music and can bring together time, place, genre, and artist with curator and community commentary and recommendations, cultural events and elements, media content, and a facility for procurement of related materials. The consistent focus of these fundamental elements of music and principles of organization provides a unique user experience that is a key aspect of the current invention. The user can interact with the media database using voice commands.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 62/736,580 filed Sep. 26, 2018, U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 62/736,587 filed Sep. 26, 2018, and is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/675,589,filed Aug. 11, 2017. Application Ser. No. 15/675,589, filed Aug. 11,2017 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/536,104,filed Nov. 7, 2014, issued on Sep. 5, 2017 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,754,025,which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application 61/902,127,filed Nov. 8, 2013. Application Ser. No. 15/675,589, filed Aug. 11, 2017is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/975,176, filed Aug. 23, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/855,612, filed Aug. 12, 2010, issued on Sep. 10,2013 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,533,175, which claims priority to U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/233,639, filed Aug. 13, 2009.Each of the above referenced applications is incorporated herein intheir entirety by this reference thereto.

FIELD

The invention relates to information search and retrieval using theWorld Wide Web. More specifically, the invention relates to analyzingcaptured sound and seeking a match based on an acoustic fingerprint fortemporal and geographic presentation and navigation of linked cultural,artistic, and historic content.

BACKGROUND

Developments in technology over the last twenty years have had aprofound impact on music, particularly popular music, and how it isproduced, marketed, distributed, and consumed. The trend is towardsWeb-based digital formats, such as MPEG-3 acquired from such Web sitesas Apple iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, etc., and away from traditionalbrick and mortar record stores. In the process, the human element of themusic store staff, knowledgeable guides to help locate and recommendmusic, has been lost. A further effect of the move to digital, Web-baseddownloads is that the packaging of a work of music, with cover art,liner notes, lyric sheets, etc. has also been largely lost. Theindividual components (songs) of a given collection might even beobscured.

Social networking Web sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter andthe phenomenon of Web logging (blogs) further set the stage fornetwork-based communities related by common interests. However, no suchsite exists which brings together the elements of music culture requiredto preserve and navigate its rich history and diverse charactereffectively.

There is great value for learning and for growing communities byconnecting those individuals having specific interests to experts in thefield, as well as to each other. This principle is evidenced bytraditional museums and by social networking sites for the expression ofsubjective tastes and opinions and by group collaboration sites, such asWikipedia, producing significant bodies of objective knowledge. It hasnot however been applied to the general navigation, discovery, andsharing of music and music history and culture through communities ofcommon interests seeded and led by expert curatorship.

Rather than contribute to the dissipation and loss of music culture,technology should be used to preserve and enrich it. A large body ofrecorded music exists since the invention of the phonograph. Collectionsof music recordings, photographs, videos, personal accounts, artifacts,memorable, etc. exist in private, public, and commercial hands. Whilemany music download sites exist, and manufactures of portable musicstorage and playback devices, such as the iPod, provide various servicesto describe, search, recommend, and catalog music, there is no suchservice or methodology that provides a comprehensive facility tocapture, preserve, and navigate the rich body of materials which exist.To do so requires that the fundamental nature of music phenomenon beunderstood and its essential underlying relationships be employed tocreate an intuitive user interface for its navigation with optimizeddata system architecture for its storage and retrieval.

The commercial music industry has been adversely affected by the WorldWide Web. Challenges to conventional sales and marketing of recordedmusic exist in the areas of copyright protection and distribution thatthe industry is still coping with. An apparatus to make the substantialcatalogs of music and related materials, such as interviews, artifacts,video clips, etc. possessed by various institutions available forgeneral discovery and potential sale by an integrated, guided musicalnavigation system which address licensing concerns provides a muchneeded outlet for both the music materials and the persons andinstitutions owning them.

There is a fundamental relationship between works of music and theartists that create them, and the time, location, genre, and culturalclimate in which they are conceived and produced. These elements providethe best possible classification and search criteria for creating acomprehensive apparatus for the cataloging, search, and discovery ofmusic, its history, and the culture that inspired it. No such facility,service, or apparatus today exists which applies this principle oforganization.

SUMMARY

Collections of music and other items, related by time, location, genre,and artist, and that are registered in a data model to provide afoundation for their curatorship, discovery, and procurement areaccessed by analyzing captured sound and seeking a match based on anacoustic fingerprint. As a result of said match, a map through thehistory and culture of music is created for display. The map is createdin an embodiment by a series of choices, where a choice is a combinationof any of time, place, genre, and artist. Both expert and regularindividual curators can define the maps; or the maps can be definedalgorithmically. Based upon said matches, one or more animated muralsdepicting a fundamental combination of any of time, place, genre, andartist are provided to a user via a user interface for the navigation ofmusic, its history, and culture. Integration with hand held GPS enableddevices provides users with knowledge of music events and historyrelative to their present location.

An embodiment of the invention relates to the effective organization ofmusic by bringing together time, place, genre, and artist with curatorand community commentary and recommendations, cultural events andelements, media content, and a facility for procurement of relatedmaterials. The consistent focus of these fundamental elements of musicand principles of organization provides a unique user experience that isa key aspect of the current invention.

Collections of music and music related items, such as podcasts, photos,news articles clips, stories, memorabilia, etc. are registered and madeavailable through the system by the persons or institutions which ownthem. The materials are related fundamentally by classification of time,location, genre, and artist. A unique and novel data model based on thisfundamental relationship provides the foundation for the curatorship,discovery and potential procurement of the music related materialsregistered by the system. This enables not only the preservation of theculture and histories inherent in these collections, but also a longtail market for the sale of items that are available for procurement.

Individual tastes, preferences, and interests lead to different choicesin navigation. A series of choices, where a choice is a combination oftime, place, genre, and artist, represents a map or guided tour throughthe history and culture of music in a presently preferred embodiment ofthe invention. These maps contribute to the body of related materialsfor a given combination and are published as links on external Websites. Both expert and regular individual curators define them. They arethe subject of sharing and group evaluation and ranking as are thecurators themselves. These maps through music, its history, and cultureare a reflection of the curators who create them, and are a distinct andnovel feature of the invention.

Animated murals depicting a fundamental combination of time, place,genre, and artist provides a unique visual experience and user interfacefor the navigation of music, its history, and culture. These murals aremade available as embedded objects on external sites such as MySpace,Facebook, Twitter, etc. and provide a distinctive expression of music tothose external Web pages. Thus, an embodiment of the invention includesa social networking aspect as it relates to the user and their abilityto share their music culture through Facebook, Twitter, or any othersocial networking sites.

Integration with handheld GPS-enabled devices, such as Apple's iPhone,provides users of the system with knowledge of music events and historyrelative to their present location. This enables a first hand discoveryof music history points of interest in not only the virtual world ofmedia content displayed on a computer, but also in the physical worldwhere the user is guided to the actual places of interest.

The invention is not limited to music and other embodiments of theinvention apply the herein disclosed teachings to, for example but notby way of limitation, fashion, film, art, news, comedy, books,healthcare, environmental issue, and the like.

Other embodiments of the invention allow a user's voice to trigger thecreation of a map, as described above. For example, the user can triggerthe creation of a map by saying “What song is playing?”; Take me to thatscene.”; or “Take me to New York in 1977.”

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram showing an architecture foranalyzing captured sound and seeking a match based on an acousticfingerprint for temporal and geographic presentation and navigation oflinked cultural, artistic, and historic content according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram showing a mechanism for analyzingcaptured sound and determining an acoustic fingerprint according to theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a schema that lists the elements of the invention in threecategories, used consistently in the preferred embodiments, shown as toplevel data model classifications;

FIG. 4 illustrates a map index defining the fundamental relationship ofmusic, its history, and culture according to the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates primary data model abstractions designed to relateitems of interest such as knowledge, media, articles for purchase, orother music related materials to a map index according to the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a data model for physical access to the items ofinterest associated with a map index and instantiating one of theprimary data model abstractions according to the invention;

FIGS. 7A-7Q illustrate a preferred embodiment of a key filter mechanismand navigation device used to implement a user interface according tothe invention;

FIGS. 8A-8F illustrate a map mural depicting the fundamentalrelationship of music in an interactive animated user interfaceaccording to the invention;

FIGS. 9A-9L illustrate a network relationships view of the primaryrepresentations of music, and its history, culture, and related items inthe unique and personal perspective of a user according to theinvention;

FIGS. 10A-10H illustrate a curator function according to the invention;

FIG. 11A-11I illustrate a music view of the world, where availableinterfaces for satellite images of the earth are augmented with specificmusic related points of interest according to the invention;

FIGS. 12A-12D illustrate the integration of a user interface with a handheld Internet-enabled telecommunications computing device with GPSaccording to the invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates the integration of a user interface with a generalpurpose Internet-enabled gamming console computing device according tothe invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates integration of a user interface with a generalpurpose Internet-based music service according to the invention;

FIG. 15 shows a system for voice interaction with the media database;

FIG. 16 shows example voice commands that can be used in the system;

FIG. 17 shows an example of the context;

FIGS. 18A-18B show a visual representation of information contained inthe database;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a method to present to the user and to enablethe user to navigate temporal and geographic information relevant to anaudio being played; and

FIG. 20 is a block schematic diagram of a machine in the exemplary formof a computer system within which a set of instructions for causing themachine to perform any one of the herein disclosed methodologies may beexecuted.

DESCRIPTION

Collections of music and other items, related by time, location, genre,and artist, and that are registered in a data model to provide afoundation for their curatorship, discovery, and procurement areaccessed by analyzing captured sound and seeking a match based on anacoustic fingerprint.

As a result of said match, a map through the history and culture ofmusic is created for display. The map is created in an embodiment by aseries of choices, where a choice is a combination of any of time,place, genre, and artist. Both expert and regular individual curatorscan define the maps; or the maps can be defined algorithmically. Basedupon said matches, one or more animated murals depicting a fundamentalcombination of any of time, place, genre, and artist are provided to auser via a user interface for the navigation of music, its history, andculture. Integration with hand held GPS enabled devices provides userswith knowledge of music events and history relative to their presentlocation.

Other embodiments of the invention allow a user's voice to trigger thecreation of a map, as described above. For example, the user can triggerthe creation of a map by saying “What song is playing?”; Take me to thatscene.”; or “Take me to New York in 1977.”

FIG. 1 is a block schematic diagram showing an architecture foranalyzing captured sound and seeking a match based on an acousticfingerprint for temporal and geographic presentation and navigation oflinked cultural, artistic, and historic content according to theinvention. In FIG. 1, a fragment of a song or other musical composition10 is captured by a device 12, such as a smart phone, i.e. an iPhone.

For purposes of the discussion herein, the capture of a music fragmentis considered to a be a search. That is, the music fragment comprises aquery and takes the place of, or is used in conjunction with, aconventional text-based query when performing a search in accordancewith the invention.

The captured music fragment is communicated to a music ID system 18 foranalyzing captured sound and determining an acoustic fingerprint, forexample via the Internet 14. The music ID system accesses a mediadatabase 20 to identify the song from the captured fragment. Musicidentification information, i.e. the search query, such as artist orsong title, is provided to a map generation system 16 that applies themusic identification information to create primary data modelabstractions that relate items of interest such as knowledge, media,articles for purchase, or other music related materials to a map indexbased upon the recognized music fragment. A map mural 22 is thengenerated depicting the fundamental relationship of music in aninteractive animated user interface.

Acoustic Fingerprint

A key aspect of the invention is the generation of an acousticfingerprint of a song fragment. An acoustic fingerprint is a condenseddigital summary, deterministically generated from an audio signal, thatcan be used to identify an audio sample or quickly locate similar itemsin an audio database.

A robust acoustic fingerprint algorithm must take into account theperceptual characteristics of the audio. If two files sound alike to thehuman ear, their acoustic fingerprints should match, even if theirbinary representations are quite different. Acoustic fingerprints arenot bitwise fingerprints, which must be sensitive to any small changesin the data. Acoustic fingerprints are more analogous to humanfingerprints where small variations that are insignificant to thefeatures the fingerprint uses are tolerated. One can imagine the case ofa smeared human fingerprint impression which can accurately be matchedto another fingerprint sample in a reference database: acousticfingerprints work in a similar way.

Perceptual characteristics often exploited by audio fingerprints includeaverage zero crossing rate, estimated tempo, average spectrum, spectralflatness, prominent tones across a set of bands, and bandwidth.

Most audio compression techniques (AAC, MP3, YVMA, Vorbis) make radicalchanges to the binary encoding of an audio file, without radicallyaffecting the way it is perceived by the human ear. A robust acousticfingerprint allows a recording to be identified after it has gonethrough such compression, even if the audio quality bas been reducedsignificantly.

There are many techniques for generating acoustic fingerprints which maybe used in connection with various embodiments of the invention herein.The following is a list of some acoustic fingerprinting products.

Proprietary

All Media Guide's LASSO is a commercial service that uses acousticfingerprinting, and other techniques, to recognize music. (U.S. Pat. No.7,277,766).

Audible Magic Corporation is a commercial venture that provideselectronic media identification and copyright management solutions usingproprietary acoustic fingerprinting technology (U.S. Pat. No.5,918,223).

AudioiD is a commercial technology for automatically identifying audiomaterial using acoustic fingerprints. It was developed by the GermanFraunhofer institute.

Axwave's Gsound uses acoustic fingerprinting to identify music, film,and TV from cell phones or from computers. It works by sending simplewave files to the servers.

BMAT Vericast is a global music identification service that monitorsmillions of songs over 2000 radios and televisions across more than 50countries worldwide. The solution provides real time recognition andauditable reporting based on an audio fingerprint that is resistant tosignal alterations, such as voice over, broadcast mastering, or noisychannel degradation.

YouTube's Content ID is able to identify an audio/visual part ofcopyrighted content.

Gracenote's MusicID is a commercial product that uses acousticfingerprinting along with other methods to identify music.

Midomi is a commercial service that can match music clips, as well asidentifying a song that is sung or hummed.

Moodagent is a commercial service from Syntonetic that combines digitalsignal processing and AI techniques to create music profiles thatincorporate characteristics such as mood, emotion, genre, style,instrument vocals, orchestration, production, and beat/tempo.

SoundHound is an acoustic fingerprint-based service for Web and mobileplatforms (Android, iOS, Windows Phone) that allows songs or hummedtunes to be identified using the Midomi service. Shazam, an acousticfingerprint-based service that allows songs to be identified via a cellphone.

Tunatic by Wildbits is an application that allows identifying musicwhile being played, analyzing the songs, and comparing the song withinformation on a server.

Open Source

MusicBrainz, a free and open content project for a media database thatuses AcoustID's free database of audio fingerprints, which aims to mapits fingerprints to the MusicBrainz database. MusicBrainz also usedMusicIP's Open Fingerprint architecture for fingerprinting and theAmpliFIND (formerly MusicDNS) service for identifying audio files since2006, but is phasing out AmpliFIND in favor of the open source AcoustiD,after AmpliFIND was acquired by Gracenote in 2011.

Last.fm's acoustic fingerprinting application was released in 2007. Thetechnology is now included in the Last.fm client software.

AcoustID is an open source project that aims to create a free databaseof audio fingerprints with mapping to the MusicBrainz metadata databaseand provides a Web service for audio file identification using thisdatabase.

Echoprint is an open source music fingerprint and resolving frameworkpowered by the Echo Nest.

FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram showing a mechanism 18 for analyzingcaptured sound and determining an acoustic fingerprint according to anembodiment of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat other techniques may be used to identify a song fragment togenerate an acoustic fingerprint for identification of the song fragmentfor use in generating a map or mural as described herein.

In FIG. 2, a capture device 33 is used to record a sample of music, oraudio data, 30 from various devices capable of receiving andtransmitting audio signals, including, for example, radios, televisions,multimedia computers, and handheld devices, such as an iPhone. Thecapture device may include a microphone 31 and an A/D converter 32.Additionally, the capture device may include an optional analog storagemedium 38 and an optional digital storage medium 37. The capture devicemay be a custom made device. Alternatively, some or all components ofthe capture device may be implemented through the use of audio taperecorders, laptop or handheld computers, cell phones, watches, cameras,and MP3 players equipped with microphones.

The sample of music is recorded by the capture device in the form of anaudio signal using the microphone. The ND converter unit converts theaudio signal of the recorded sample to a sample time signal 34.Alternatively, the audio signal of the recorded sample may be stored inthe optional analog storage medium. The capture device transmits thesample time signal to a digital processing system, such as a computersystem 35. Alternatively, the sample time signal may be stored in theoptional digital storage medium for uploading to the computer system ata later time. The computer system is capable of processing the sampletime signal into a compressed form to produce a processed sample timesignal 36. Alternatively, the sample time signal may be processed by aseparate processor unit before being transmitted to the computer system.The computer system is also capable of accessing a remote databaseserver 44 that includes a media database 20. The computer system maycommunicate with the database server through a network 39, such as forexample, the Internet, by conventional land-line or wireless means.Additionally, the database server may communicate with the computersystem. Alternatively, the database server may reside in a local storagedevice of computer system.

The media database includes a plurality of songs, where each song may berepresented by a database entry 43. The database entry for each song iscomprised of a processed time signal 40, a feature vector 41, and songinformation 42. The processed time signal for each song can representthe entire song. The song information may include, for example, songtitle, artist, and performance. Additionally, the song information mayalso include price information and other related commercial information.

The feature vector for a song in the media database is determined bygenerating a spectrogram of the processed time signal for the song andthen extracting features from the spectrogram. Various techniquesrelated to discrete-time signal processing are well known in the art forgenerating the spectrogram. Alternatively, the feature vector for a songmay be extracted from the original, unprocessed time signal for thesong. The features are represented by numeric values, and looselyrepresent specific perceptual musical characteristics, such as, forexample, pitch, tempo, and purity. In one embodiment of the invention,the feature vector for each song in the database includes five featurecomponents derived from the projection of a spectrogram in the time (X)and frequency (Y) axes. The first feature is the Michelson contrast inthe X direction, which represents the level of beat contained in a songsample. The second feature represents the amount of noise in the Ydirection, or the purity of the spectrum. The third feature is theentropy in the Y direction, which is calculated by first normalizing theY projection of the spectrogram to be a probability distribution andthen computing the Shannon entropy. The fourth and fifth features arethe center of mass and the moment of inertia, respectively, of thehighest three spectral peaks in the Y projected spectrogram. The fourthand fifth features roughly represent the tonal properties of a songsample. Features representing other musical characteristics may also beused in the feature vectors.

The sample of music is converted into the sample time signal andtransmitted to the computer system. The computer system processes thesample time signal to produce a processed sample time signal. Thecomputer system applies a signal matching technique with respect to theprocessed sample time signal and the processed time signals of the mediadatabase to select a song corresponding to the best match. The songinformation corresponding to the selected song is input as a query to amap generation module.

Map

Upon receiving song information corresponding to the selected song as aninput query, the map generation module creates a map. A map is theimplementation of a set of user interface features and abstractions andphysical design organization principles exposing the fundamentalrelationship of music as defined herein; time, location, genre, andartist. The song information received from the music recognition isreceived by the user interface as a navigation query. The user interfaceabstractions include an animated mural, filter bar, networkrelationships view, music annotated maps, and a music GPS. In additionto this broad and general definition, specific user interface elementswill be presented as a preferred embodiment whose representation istaken to be representative but not limiting to the general definition.

The discussion herein relates to embodiments of the invention thatconcern music. The invention is not limited to music and otherembodiments of the invention apply the herein disclosed teachings to,for example but not by way of limitation, fashion, film, art, news,comedy, books, healthcare, environmental issue, and the like. However,fundamental to the invention is the initial determination of an acousticfingerprint from an audio fragment which, in the presently preferredembodiment of the invention, is a sample of a piece of music, such as apopular song. Other embodiments of the invention may develop an acousticfingerprint from other audio sources. For example, a famous speech, e.g.Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream speech; film dialog, e.g. HumphreyBogart's lines from the film Casablanca; or sounds, e.g. the sound of aspace shuttle taking off or the song of a sparrow, may be recognized andused as an input query to generate a map or mural. As such, theinvention is not limited to music fragments, but can encompass any audioinformation.

The fundamental relationship of music provides not only the basis fornavigation at the conceptual level but also the physical design of theimplementation for optimization of the delivery apparatus. The deliveryapparatus constitutes a transformation of the input fundamentalrelationship values to a unique and novel corresponding presentation ofmusic, its history, and culture.

A unique and novel feature of the invention is that all content isregistered with the system though an act of curatorship. The humanelement of storytelling, and deliberate association of music and musicrelated materials and items, enables a high standard of quality andconsistency in the resulting experience. The map curators have a rankand include professional expert curators employed by the maporganization, as well as ordinary users. Groups of curators with commoninterests form communities.

Elements

FIG. 3 is a schema that names the physical components of a presentlypreferred embodiment of the invention, i.e. the core elements 100,primary elements 101, and supporting elements 102, as implemented by anObject/Relational Model Data Base Management System (ORM/DBMS) under anapplication execution environment with persistence and presentationlayers. The named elements represent not only physical design structuresfor the definition of a relational database storage and retrievalsystem, but also the user-facing business logic and Graphical UserInterface (GUI) components that implement the functionality describedherein. The general implementation of the underlying architecture uponwhich the invention may be built is described in the prior art as aModel View Controller (MVC) design. A realization of the physical designstructures and functionality required to implement the invention ispossible with standard Web application frameworks, such as Ruby on Railsfor example, with supporting standard SQL relational databaseapplications, such as Oracle for example, with embedded user interfacetechnologies, such as Adobe Flash for example. A number of frameworksexist in the prior art which can provide the foundation. Specificexamples are provided only to clarify how one reasonably skilled in theart can realize the invention and do not limit the scope of theinvention to any particular embodiment.

Core Element Relation

FIG. 4 shows the fundamental relationship of music as defined in apresently preferred embodiment of the invention, and provides the basisfor the conceptual, navigational, and physical organization ofmusic-related materials. This fundamental relationship between the fourcore elements is referred to herein as the Map Index 200. Alldescriptions of music, its history, and culture are registered in thesystem, along with a time 201, location 202, genre 203, and artist 204.Each of the core elements has a unique numeric id, maintained by theunderlying relational database management system. The unique numeric idis used as the foreign key in referencing the Map Index 200 and relatingthe corresponding core elements. Hence, each combination of one numericid from each of the core elements 201-204 corresponds to a unique map_idof the Map Index 200. The assignment of a single unique numeric id toeach combination of core elements optimizes the mapping of higher levelabstractions to the subject relationship with reduction of four-to-onethe number of required index operations. At the same time, the partitionof the Map Index into the four core elements provides four core filtersfor data object search and retrieval. For example, optimized responsesto user interactions include selecting all higher level abstractionswith the same map_id, or all map_id with the same time_id. In all, inthe presently preferred embodiment there are fifteen possible filteroptions available from the four core elements of the Map Index,excluding the empty set; all four, any one, any two, or any three coreelements specified with the remaining core elements of the map_idallowed to take on any value. For example, select all map_id withtime_id=4.

Primary Element Relation

While the fundamental relationship of music is implemented by the coreelements, 201-204 of the Map index 200, a set of primary elements302-306 shown in FIG. 5 establish the next higher level of abstractionfor the classification and organization of music, its history andculture. In this embodiment, each data object is related to one of thefive primary category types, i.e. curator 302, community 303, culture304, content 35, and shopping 306. The combination of a primary type id307 with a map_id 301 establishes a primary element 300. The primaryelement defines a collection of music related data objects as associatedwith a specific time, location, genre, and artist by way of the map_id.The primary element enables selection of all the primary types availablefor a given map_id, or all the map_id available for a given primarytype. It further enables the selection of all the map_id for a specificinstance of any one of the primary categories. For example, the culturalevents for a given year, are selected from the primary elements with amap_id with the given year and primary type_id for culture, all dataobjects with community relationships are selected from the set of map_idwhich belong to an element_id having a primary type_id for community,and all data objects with relationships to a specific curator areselected from map_id which belong to an element_id with a primary_id forthe specific curator. The type_id of the primary categories 302-306 isan enumerated constant of the implementing class. It behaves as aforeign key for the category type in the primary element id 300, howeverit is used as a software switch or polymorphic selector, not as a joinkey in the supporting relational database; there is no stored value inthe corresponding category model. This design provides a naturalpartition for load distribution of both the data storage and dataprocessing required to implement the invention.

Supporting Element Relation

FIG. 6 shows the physical storage of data objects 402 representingmusic, its history, and culture. The data object representations areimplemented by supporting elements 401 related to primary elements 400many-to-one. Each primary element, relates any number of supportingelements to the fundamental relationship of music 200 throughassociation with a primary element 400. For example, all of thesupporting elements for a specific curator with respect to a given time,location, genre, and artist are selected by the element_id with theindicated primary_id and map_id combination in the element_id.

Filter Bar Abstraction

As discussed above, the preferred embodiment incorporates the collectiveknowledge inherent in thousands of expert and community recommendations,major museum resources, and several lifetimes' worth of music collectingand appreciation. The map provides a filter bar abstraction thatpresents the same knowledge, unfolded in ways that encourage users todiscover new connections to the music they love. For example, a user mayperform a search for producers, engineers, and musicians that played onparticular recording sessions. The invention provides a cross referencethrough the herein disclosed indexing system. Thus, the user mayinteract with the filter bar to bring up all the albums an individualproduced, engineered, or played on, along with surrounding culturalreferences.

The core element relationship is exposed to the user through a filterbar abstraction 500, an embodiment of which is shown in FIGS. 7A-7Q asthe results of a user's search for “1968 san francisco rock.”

The filter bar presents a view with an interface to time 501, place 502,genre 503, and artist 504. These are respectively the input devices forthe model elements 201-204 of FIG. 4. The user selects any or each ofthese items to focus their navigation accordingly. Any items that arenot selected by the user are the subject of random selection by thesystem. The Map icon at the top of the filter bar 500 issues are-randomization when selected. Works matching the core elementrelationship interface component 505, for example the medium of music isshown, from which matching results are selectable by artist 506 and song507.

In FIGS. 7A-7Q, the core element relationship interface component 505 isa pop-up that allows a user to select from among various media, such asmusic, video, articles, etc. to display corresponding results byexposing the primary elements data model 300 to the user interface fornavigation. The “Artist” is the currently selected artist in the mapindex and may be changed and traversed via the selector 505. Note that“Music” is a primary_id 300 which can occur with each primary elementtype 302-306. Supporting element 401 occurs in the context of a primaryelement 400 which, in turn, occurs in the context of a primary type andmap index. Each of these elements has a navigable representation in theuser interface. Note also that the namespace of the supporting elementswith such entries as “Music” in the example of interface component 505can, in general, be thought of as a W3C/RDF predicate in nature. Suchdata structure includes local terms, in addition to formal W3Cvocabularies, such as the Dublin core, and additional industry standardontology elements, which are important for such functions as naming andclassification of external materials, indicating APIs, and definingprotocols for commerce. An embodiment of the invention provides atranslation of these formal semantic vocabularies into the vernacular ofthe user or community. For example, Blues, Jazz, Rap, and Classicalmusic communities use very different terms to describe their art. Anembodiment of the invention enables the curator to define and chooseterms to describe music, its media, and culture and to use those termsto indicate qualified examples of resources that satisfy the predicatenature of the terms.

In summary, a significant feature of the invention includes the datamodel namespace of primary element names which define predicates in thesemantic music ontology, which the map exposes, and which the usernavigates. This aspect of the invention thus provides an extensibleframework for the classification, curatorship, and navigation of musicand its supporting media, history, and culture,

The curatorship interface 508 allows both individual 509 and communitycuratorship 510. The Culture 511, Content 512, and Shopping 513interfaces relate the selected music to curator and/or community defineditems of interest for their respective primary categories. These userinterfaces abstractions 509-513 expose the primary element relationcategories 302-306 of the data model shown in FIG. 5. Use cases of thefilter abstraction are depicted in FIGS. 7B-7Q.

The Map has four search categories with a dynamic extensible set offilters:

Time, Location, Genre, Artist

Note: as per the above discussion: Time, Place Genre, and Artist areeach a unique numeric id that is used as the foreign key in referencingthe Map Index 200. Album and Song are examples of supporting elements401. The possible names include Video, Interview, Live Concert, etc.

Whenever the user performs a search, their search terms are analyzed andused to populate as many of the search categories as possible. In anembodiment of the invention, a search is initiated by capturing afragment of a musical composition as it is performed, for example usinga handheld device, such as an iPhone, to capture the music fragment. Themusic fragment is recognized, as described above, and input to the mapgeneration system as one or more search terms. The search categoriesthen persist throughout the site at the top of the filter bar interface,and their contents can be modified by the user at any time, eitherthrough subsequent searches or through individual controls, for example,a timeline slider to select the year.

The filters that are available to the user to navigate are the onesdefined and/or chosen by the curator to describe the supporting data 401and are applied concurrently.

The search categories act as filters which determine search results in avariety of results categories, organized into groups shown underneaththe search categories in the filter bar:

Music—This group converts any unused search categories into resultscategories. In this example, the user has not specified an album or songin their search, so recommended albums and songs are shown here. Asnoted, there may be a variety of primary element types, such as Musicavailable depending on what has been subject to curatorship.

Curators/Community—Recommended music experts from the Map and the userbase at large.

Culture—Related results in Fashion, Film, Literature, Music, Comedy, andNews.

Content—Related results from third-party information resources such asGracenote, Grammy Museum, Rolling Stone, Rock Back Pages, Rock and RollHall of Fame, and YouTube.

Shopping—Recommended products from brands including Record Mecca,Wolfgang's Vault, Amazon, EBay, iTunes, and Netflix.

Whenever the user accesses search results in one of the resultscategories, the results are determined by the locked in searchcategories. The Curators group gets special prominence because of theoverall importance of curator recommendations to the site, and top-ratedcommunity experts are also featured. All sets of material are a directlyrelated to a curator at all times. In this embodiment, there is always acurator or group of curators behind the filter result at all times.Random selection is within the constraints of the map index andcurrently selected primary elements 400.

Unlike traditional discrete searches, however, the Map search isaffected not only by explicit criteria input by the user in the form ofa song fragment, but also by the user's path through the site. Ineffect, the user's initial search is smeared with their browse path toprovide fresh results on each new page the user visits, while stillmaintaining some continuity with their original search.

How does this work?

Let's say the user search recognizes a song that returns “1968 rock sanfrancisco quicksilver messenger service.” The Map search engine parsesthose search terms and locks in the following as search categories:

Time: 1968

Location: San Francisco

Genre: Rock

Artist: Quicksilver Messenger Service

Clicking on the icons for any of the results categories returns itemsfiltered by the search categories. For example, if the user clicks theCurators icon, they see a list of Map curators who are experts in SanFrancisco rock from 1968. If they click on the News icon, they see alist of key news items related to the San Francisco rock scene in 1968.

The Map's content management system allows curators and editors to tagcertain results as more broadly relevant than their defaultcategorization might imply. For example, the assassination of MartinLuther King Jr. in 1968 would clearly be associated with both 1968 andMemphis in the Map database. However, because the assassination was sucha significant event, it. could be manually flagged in the Map databaseto appear in all searches for 1968, regardless of whether the specificcity the user searched for was Memphis or not.

Note that the specific culture icon that appears in the filter barchanges randomly within the constrains of the current filters until theuser makes a specific category selection in this widget. Each iconpresents the user with results specific to their search (see, forexample, FIG. 7M).

Note that also the specific content icon that appears in the filter barchanges randomly until the user makes a specific category selection inthis widget. Each icon presents the user with results specific to theirsearch (see, for example, FIG. 7O).

Further note that the specific store icon that appears in the filter barchanges randomly until the user makes a specific store selection in thiswidget. Each store icon presents the user with results specific to theirsearch in a cover flow carousel (see, for example, FIG. 7Q).

Mural Abstraction

A unique feature of the invention, depicted in FIGS. 8A-8F, is thevisual assembly and animation of a mural 600.

The mural displays the results of the user's current filter selection601. Displayed are iconic representations of data items of interest suchas albums, videos, books, interviews, news events, etc., with a background image representing the current location and presentationsatisfying the current filters 601. The mural icons are hot links tocorresponding representations and display descriptive text of therepresented items on mouse over events. A set of selectors 602enable/disable each of the four fundamental relationships filters201-204 of FIG. 4 independently.

Qualified representations of music, its history, and culture 605 arepresented in the mural with the current time 604 indicated andselectable from a time line 603. The location of the current search isviewed either geophysically (Earth, shown) 607 or conceptually (Network)by a map selector 606. The Network view and Earth maps are described ingreater detail below.

The Map home page as it appears after the user has done a search bycapturing a fragment of music is shown in FIG. 8B, and presents to theuser the following:

1. Mural. A dynamically animated selection of images derived from theuser's current search. Images may represent regions, cities, artists,news items, comedy, fashion trends, movies, books, and genres of art.When rolled over, each image displays a pop-up that provides moreinformation and options.

2. Interactive timeline. An interactive timeline allows the user tochange the current year at will. Any changes are immediately reflectedin the imagery and the Time icon.

3. Search status. This element, which appears throughout the siteassociated with various interactive modules, shows which of the foursearch components are being used to generate the content shown (here,the Mural imagery). Clicking on a given icon toggles it on and off,making the related results either broader or more refined.

4. Media selector. Plays a selection of tracks driven by the user'ssearch. Clicking “Expand player” reveals transport controls andadditional details about the current track; clicking “Top tracks . . . ”opens a menu with additional playlist options, including a videoplaylist.

5. Mapping module—Earth mode. Displays the user's current location inthe history of music, based on their most recent search, either as apoint on a globe, or as a node in a diagram of pop culture referents. Asthe contents of the Location icon in the filter bar change, the globerotates to center on the new location.

6. Welcome messaging. Introduces the user to the Map, and the majoractivities users perform on the site, e.g. exploring curator-recommendedmusic and, optionally, building their own Map.

7. Full screen option. Toggles full-screen display of the Mural on andoff.

8. Latest updates. This area displays the latest items of the Map musicnews. Clicking the “x” button closes the updates box.

FIG. 8C depicts the following functionality:

1. Expanded media player. The expanded media player provides transportcontrols and additional details about the currently playing track.

2. Track purchase dialog box. Clicking the “Buy” button triggers theappearance of this dialog box which provides options to purchase thesong from iTunes, Amazon.com, or Rhapsody. The user can also listen tothe song or expand the dialog further to reveal other types of relatedproducts that can be browsed in a cover flow style carousel.

3. Playlist menu. Allows the user to select other playlists relevant totheir search, including a video playlist that replaces the Mural with avideo player.

FIG. 8D depicts the following functionality:

1. Curator promotion. Whenever a user search returns a Map curator thathas not been previously promoted, a pop-up promotion appears whichintroduces the user to the curator. Clicking on the curator photo oricon replaces the promotion with the full Curator widget and itsresults.

FIG. 8E depicts the following functionality:

1. Mural rollover. When the user rolls over an image in the Mural, apop-up box appears offering further details, a link to the dedicatedpage for the item, and the opportunity to add the item to the user'sMap.

FIG. 8F depicts the following functionality:

1. Mapping module—Network mode. When this module is togged into Networkmode, it shows the user's current search in icon form, with amultilayered ticker of related elements, including Map curators, arrayedto the right. Clicking a specific element takes the user to itsdedicated page, clicking elsewhere in the module takes the user to theNetwork View page. Network View Abstraction

The invention presents two kinds of maps to the user. The Earth map 605is shown in the Mural 600 of FIGS. 11A-11I described below. The Networkmap is presented in FIGS. 9A-9L. This novel abstraction functions as aniconic filter construction device. The Network map user interfacepresents a pallet of available supporting elements 708 and curatorshipfacilities 709. The user adds elements to the map by drag and drop oficon items from the pallets 708 and 709 onto the mapping area 707. Themap has a representation of the user's current filter selections andprimary category data items with counts of the number of itemssatisfying each criterion. Selecting an icon, for example the iconrepresenting the user 708, graphs the relationships 705 between theselected icon and other icons in the network map. A double click on anicon expands it. For example, the songs icon 706 has not been expandedwhile the Garth Trinidad icon 710 is the result of two expansions; thecurator icon 711 was expanded from the Current search, and the GarthTrinidad icon 710 was expanded from the curator expansion 711. Thecurrent network map is saved by user selection 701. The map is madeavailable to external Web sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter,etc. through an embedded object tag, for example, a JavaScript object orintegrated plug-in module, the semantics of which are provided to theuser by selecting 702. Thus, an embodiment of the invention includes asocial networking aspect as it relates to the user and their ability toshare their music culture through Facebook, Twitter, or any other socialnetworking sites.

The Network View page presents the user with an interactive diagram ofconnections between elements in the Map database (see FIG. 9C).

1. Central focus. The diagram is always centered on a specific item; inthis case, a cluster of icons representing the user's current search.The large circle behind the central item indicates relationships betweenthe items it touches and the central focus. Double-clicking any item inthe diagram makes that item the new central focus.

2. Category cluster. Because even links to a single element within theMap database quickly become too complex to be displayed all at once,category clusters are used to simplify the diagram by grouping relatedresults. For example, this “Albums” cluster indicates that there arenine albums related to the user's current search. The more results acluster contains, the larger it gets.

3. People cluster. Because Map curators and community members can createtheir own networks of linked items, their results appear as a specialcategory of cluster with a different look.

4. Previous search. Users can step back through their search history byclicking here; doing so causes that search to move to the center and thecategory results to update accordingly.

5. Map categories. This tab is a repository of all the default Mapcategories which can be dragged into the Network View. Most of thesecorrespond to icons in the filter bar.

6. Your categories. This tab contains custom categories specific to aparticular user. With this feature, a user can organize their Maphowever they wish, by creating a category like “Stuff I need to listento,” dragging it to the browser, and adding specific items into it.

7. Map room. This tab contains map views which the user has stored usingthe

“Save this” command above.

8. Curators and community. This tab contains recommended curators andcommunity members relevant to the user's current search. Each can bedragged into the Network View. Note the first community member is“You”—this enables the user to add items in the view to their own Map.

9. Save this. Allows the user to save the current map view to their MapRoom for later retrieval.

10. Share this. Allows the user to send the map to a friend.

FIG. 9D depicts the following functionality:

1. Save this. Allows the user to save the current map view to their MapRoom for later retrieval.

2. Share this. Allows the user to send the map to a friend. The frienddoes not have to be a Map user.

3. Map me. Shows the contents of the current view plotted on a map.

4. Build tour. Allows the user to construct a linear sequence of nodesas a tour which other users can play.

5. Key. Superimposes text labels that identify all icons in the diagram.

In FIG. 9E, the user is curious about Ebay.com products related to acurrent search, and so has dragged the Ebay.com icon out of the MapCategories tab and released it in the Network View, creating a newcategory cluster displaying results from the search.

As shown in FIG. 9F, by clicking on the Ebay.com category cluster, theuser has expanded it to reveal its contents: a set of related productsavailable from the retailer. Note how the large background circles areconnected to indicate that the items they contain are all related to thecentral focus (the user's current search). If the user wishes to see thecomplete set of results, he can click on the “+17” bubble to see theitems arranged as a list.

Similarly, the user has clicked on the People cluster to expand it andshow curators and community members related to the current search (seeFIG. 9G).

Curious about the preferences of a particular curator, the user clickson his icon to show any of the curator's links that are relevant to thecurrent search. Lines appear connecting the curator to related categoryclusters (see FIG. 9H).

In FIG. 9i, the user has clicked on the Film and TV icon to expand itand reveal which of the three movies the curator has a special affinityfor.

Now, the user is ready to make some additions to their own Map. To getstarted, he drags the “You” icon out from the Curators and Community taband drops it in the Network View. Because the user has not yet createdany links to any of the visible elements, no connecting lines are drawn(see FIG. 9J).

Making use of the pop-up options that appear when he rolls over an item,the user selects the “Link” option, clicking and dragging from the itemback to the “You” icon to establish a link—and adding that item to hisMap. The user thinks that Garth has good taste, so he adds him to hismap, as well as one of his favorite films (see FIG. 9K).

The user wants to explore Garth's map further, so he double-clicks onGarth's icon to make him the central focus. Because the Network View isnow no longer being filtered by the current search, the number ofresults shown expands greatly. From here, the user can expand specificcategories at will, or return to the current search as the central focusby clicking the “Your current search” item on the left.

In this way, the user can explore the Maps of others while alsoconstructing is own (see FIG. 9L).

Curator Abstraction

FIG. 10A depicts the following functionality:

1. Mini Mural. This compact version of the collage seen on the home pagecontinues to update with images inspired by the user's current search.The search status and music player elements appear here as well.

2. Curator info. This comprises top-line information about the curator,including links to bio, manifesto, and an FAQ.

3. Curator's recommendations—Playlist carousel. Features a selection ofcurator-selected playlists related to the user's current search. Aquestion mark icon toggles the display of help content for this module,and search status icons show which elements of the user's search havebeen used to generate the content shown. By clicking on the pull- downmenu in the upper right, the user can change the content displayed tovarious music and video playlists, blog, podcast, and othercurator-recommended content. The list is initially displayed in acarousel that shows items receding in space, but can be toggled todisplay as a standard text list as well. Most lists can be played in theMural music player, added to the user's own Map, or shared using socialnetworking services.

4. Curator's world—Network View. This interactive diagram shows contentfrom Nigel's Map, i.e. songs, albums, bands, genres, news, art,literature, fashion, movies, etc.,) which is relevant to the user'scurrent search. Specific elements can be explored, saved to the user'sown Map, or shared with friends. By clicking on the pull-down menu inthe upper right, the user can access other facets of the curator'sworld, including blog posts, podcasts, and a schedule of events.

5. Shopping. Similar in format to the Playlist module, this area showsproducts related to the user's current search. It can be viewed as astandard list and sorted by various criteria. Clicking the pull-downmenu in the upper right allows access to the various vendors offeringproducts through the system. Rolling over an item shows its details aswell as an off-site link to purchase.

Additional options for the Curator recommendations module (#3 on theCurator page) are shown in FIG. 10B as follows:

1. Track rollover. Rolling over a track entry displays this box, withwhich the user can listen to a sample of the song, add it to his ownMap, buy it, or visit the page for the album.

2. Share this. Clicking on this link brings up a pop-up collection ofsocial networking services through which the user can publish a link tothe current curator playlist.

3. Playlist selection. This pull-down menu contains a selection ofcurator playlists relevant to the user's current search. Note that theSearch status icons currently show only Time and Location being used togenerate these results; this is adjusted dynamically based upon thenumber of available matches.

Additional options for the Curator recommendations module (#3 on theCurator page) are shown on FIG. 10C as follows:

1. Video playlist. Here, the module layout is altered to accommodate avideo player. Clicking “Play this” here causes the entire playlist torun in its entirety.

Additional options for the Curator's world module (#4 on the Curatorpage) are shown on FIG. 10D as follows:

1. Content selection. This pull-down menu contains a selection ofCurator-originated content the user can explore at will. Content isfiltered according to the current state of the Search status icons.

2. Full screen option. Toggles full-screen display of the Network Viewon and off.

3. Filter bar categories. Because the contents of this view are filteredby the user's current search, as indicated by the icons for Year,Location, Genre, and Artist in the upper-left corner, these dotted-linecategories are shown to give the user a sense of the larger scope of thecurator's interests. The user is currently searching on 1968-SanFrancisco-Rock-Quicksilver Messenger Service, but if he were to removeQuicksilver from that search, he would find that Nigel has a total of153 artists to recommend that are relevant to 1968-San Francisco-Rock.That is why the number 153 appears within the artist category—toindicate that if the user clicks on that category, the Artist filter is“muted” and those results become available.

4. Blog updates. Shows the most recent blog posts by this curator.

Additional options for the Curator's world module (#4 on the Curatorpage) are shown on FIG. 10E as follows:

1. Podcast. Shows the complete catalog of podcasts by this curator,including links to listen and subscribe.

2. Best Of. Shows featured and/or popular blog posts by this curator.

Additional options for the Curator's world module (#4 on the Curatorpage) are shown on FIG. 10F as follows:

1. Schedule. Shows the curator's upcoming events.

On FIG. 10G, we see a Curator page for the Future Sounds collective ofmusic bloggers, focused on the rising stars of 2009.

On FIG. 10H, we see a Curator page for KCRW DJ Garth Trinidad, featuringtop albums from artists appearing at an upcoming Hollywood Bowl event aswell as a

Network View that has been expanded to reveal Garth's top genres.

Earth Map Music Overlay

The location element 202 of the fundamental relationship of music 200from FIG.

4 has a natural representation through standard mapping facilities 802,such as Google Earth, an embodiment of which is depicted in FIGS.11A-11I. The standard map interface is annotated with music relateditems of interest 801 according to a selection category 800. The itemsdisplayed are subject to the users current filter settings. Selecting anitem presents a corresponding representation.

FIG. 11B shows a page that is dedicated to geographical music searches:

1. Interactive globe. Displays geographic content based upon the user'ssearch on a navigable 3D globe, including a variety of map layers andtours.

2. Search and timeline controls. Allows the user to quickly search for alocation. The selected result is shown both on the globe and in theLocation icon in the filter bar. The user can also update the currentyear search criterion and updates are reflected in the globe pull-downmenu content in the upper-right and in the Time icon in the filter bar.

3. Geographical media browser. Delivers media by type that matches thespecified Location in the user's current search. Note that the Searchstatus icons show that Location is the only element being used todetermine the content that appears in the browser.

4. Location browser. Three hierarchically filtered lists of Regions,Cities, and Landmarks. Each item in each of the lists has its owndedicated page on the site that the user can visit.

Additional options for the Interactive globe module (#1 on the MusicalEarth page) are shown on FIG. 11C as follows:

1. Location pop-up. Provides links to the dedicated page for thelocation and to add the location to the user's Map.

2. User ratings. Displays the average rating for the currently displayedcontent among all users, as well as a control for the user to add theirown rating.

Additional options for the Interactive globe module (#1 on the MusicalEarth page) are shown on FIG. 11D as follows:

1. Content selection. Enables the user to select from a variety ofsearch-filtered maps and tours that can be overlaid on the 3D globe.

FIG. 11E depicts a version of the module that shows a close-up view ofthe west coast.

In FIG. 11F, the user is browsing a set of music maps of the UnitedStates. Each map highlights geographic locations in the US along aparticular musical theme: music in general, hip-hop, songwriters, radiostations, etc. Clicking on a city brings up a pop-up with related linksthe user can explore. Clicking on a link takes the user to the relatedpage, while also updating their current search to reflect the relevantartist, genre, location, and year.

FIG. 11G depicts a dedicated page for a single city as follows:

1. Map. An interactive map shows a satellite view of Memphis.

2. Markers. Markers call attention to important music-related locationsin the city.

3. Marker pop-up. Clicking on a marker brings up the related infowindow, with options to visit the landmark's dedicated page or add thelandmark to the user's Map.

4. Map content. Using the pull-down menu in the upper right, the usercan select from a variety of search-filtered geographic content, such asclubs, venues, recording studios, residences, and hotels for the city,details of which are shown here.

5. Search and timeline controls. Allows the user to quickly search for alocation. The selected result is shown both on the globe and in theLocation icon in the filter bar. The user can also update the currentyear search criterion and updates are reflected in the globe pull-downmenu content in the upper-right and in the Time icon in the filter bar.

6. City content browser. This area allows the user to browse contentrelated to the city. Here, the user is browsing curator-recommendedMemphis albums.

Additional options for the City content browser module (#6 on the Citypage) are shown on FIG. 11H as follows:

1. Content selection. Enables the user to select from a variety ofMemphis-related content carousels, plus a Network View centered on thecity.

FIG. 11i depicts the following:

1. Location content browser—Map. An interactive map/street view image ofthe location is shown. By clicking the pull-down menu in the upper rightcorner, the user can access other Stax-related content, includingphotos, video, and user-created content.

2. Recommendations browser—Artists. This module contains a selection ofcurator-recommended and dynamically chosen content relating both to theuser's search and to this location. The various content types (artists,tracks, albums, etc.) are accessible via the pull-down menu. MobileDevice Integration with GPS

A mobile device enabled with a Global Positioning System (GPS) 900, suchas the Apple iPhone for example, is shown in FIGS. 12A-12D. Illustratedfor example is the Network map interface 901 displaying the user currentsearch 903, the fundamental relationship of music filters 900 and searchbutton 901. A unique and novel service of the current invention is toinform the user of music related items of interest near their currentphysical location 904.

In FIG. 12A, the Search mode of the Map iPhone application allows theuser to perform searches and retrieve the same results that would appearin the filter bar on the main website.

1. Search field. Allows the user to perform searches and retrieve thesame results that would appear in the filter bar on the main website

2. Search components. These icons are populated with elements derivedfrom the user's text searches, just as on the Map website. Clicking onan icon displays a pop-up widget for changing its contents similar tothose found on the site, i.e. timeline, location search, genre pull-down, artist search. Note that the location search pop-up widget has acurrent location option that makes use of GPS to identify the user'sposition and add it to the search.

3. Search results. Results of the most recent search are shown here in ascrollable list. Entries correspond to the various results categories inthe Web site filter bar. Touching a category causes the list to scrollto the left, displaying related results.

4. Tab bar. Allows the user to switch between application modes. TheLocal mode of the Map iPhone application shows geographic resultsderived from the user's search (see FIG. 12B).

5. GPS locator. Uses GPS to center the map on the user's currentlocation, updating the Location search component to match.

6. Map layer selector. This selection of map layers can be scrolled leftand right by touching and dragging, and individual layers can be turnedon and off by tapping.

7. Tour selector. By choosing a tour and clicking “Start tour,” the usercan browse through a curator-authored step-by-step guide to a particularlocation from a musical perspective.

8. Interactive map. Shows results matching the user's search criteria inthe chosen location. Users can toggle the display of specific map layerson and off.

The Network mode of the Map mobile device application (see FIG. 12C)allows the user to browse an interactive diagram of the Map database,including links created by curators, community, and the user.

1. Network View. Interactive diagram of items in the Map database. Touchgestures including “pinch in” and “pinch out” allow the user to scalethe map up and down and navigate from node to node.

2. Key. Tapping this button superimposes text labels that identify allicons in the diagram.

3. Preferences option. Allows the user to customize the display of thediagram.

4. Categories tab. Here, the user has opened the Categories tab, whichincludes a toggle between the standard Map categories and user-createdcategories, and is about to drag the Amazon.com icon into the Networkview to display related results.

Having dragged the Amazon.com category in to the Network view, relatedresults are now shown.

Amazon.com results. Tapping on the Amazon.com bubble has centered andexpanded it to display its results. The original search is stillavailable by tapping the up arrow at the top of the view.

Result pop-up. Tapping on a result brings up a pop-up that provides abrief description of the item, and relevant links. Because this is anAmazon product, the user is shown a purchase button that opensAmazon.com in the Safari browser when clicked.

Below the product information is a panel of Network View options thatallow the user to manipulate how the item appears in the Network View.

The Musical Earth mode of the Map mobile device application allows theuser to browse an interactive 3D globe dotted with geographic markersrelevant to the current search (see FIG. 12D).

Game Console Integration

Access through other popular web enabled graphic interfaces, such asSony Xbox 300 for example, is shown in FIG. 13. Illustrated are userinterface abstractions and facilities of the invention including afilter bar 1003, media player 1007, time line interface 1004, mediaselection 1005, and the Mural 1006.

Game console application. This implementation of the Map on a gameconsole such as the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 shows the interfacereformatted for an HD television screen, including tabs at the top foraccessing the primary page and content types.

Game Play Element

The user may be provided with various music-related games on such a gameconsole or any other device. The user plays such game in real time withother users or solo using the tools herein disclosed to make a mediaculture map, gaining points and rewards along the way. Such games can bebased upon the user's knowledge of music and music-related culture orcan be skill based, such as a demonstration of musical ability. Theusers who are successful at such games can also gain in status to becomea curator who is recognized and regarded by the community.

While the interface primarily makes use of layers of two-dimensionalelements, embodiments of the invention comprise a three-dimensionalinterface that provide much more of an exploratory, game-like feel tothe experience.

The user begins by selecting an avatar for themselves, which is thendropped as a 3D character into a surreal desert landscape. If the userbegins playing a song, or performs a search, the environment around themtransforms as the music begins to play. For example, if the userselected a song from a contemporary Los Angeles-based artist, the desertsand is replaced by asphalt, ghostly freeways sprout from the ground,and notable LA music landmarks pop up, all flickering and fading in andout of view.

This is not a literal geography of LA. Rather, it is a musicalgeography, one that brings together clubs and recording studios, concertvenues and garages in a visual mash-up of the musical culture of thecity. Other characters, similarly ethereal in appearance, but dressed inthe fashions of the day, appear in the world, some controlled by thecomputer, and others representing networked players who are currentlyexploring the same time and place in the history of music.

The player's current search is visualized beneath the feet of theiravatar as a glowing disc, labeled with their current location, e.g. “LosAngeles Rock 2014.” Everything in the world appears somewhat ghostly,flickering in and out of view, until the player steps off of this disc,signifying their entry into the world proper. Now everything becomessolid, and the player can walk their character around the environment,talking to the other characters and getting a sense of the local flavor.The things the other characters in the world say and the places they gohelp to evoke the scene. As the player walks towards a particular club,a menu of videos might appear over the view, offering clips of greatperformances from the venue. This embodiment of the invention conjuresthe time and place impressionistically through strategic use of stylized3D models as an interface to cultural artifacts and media, withouthaving to model endless assets.

Stepping back on the disc allows the user to pivot on the time, place,genre, or artist of their current search and arrive at a newdestination. This new destination is visualized as a second glowingdisc, connected to the first by a thin line. To retrace their steps ofexploration through TunesMap, the user need only hop from one disc toanother and then step off into the 3D world conjured by each.

There is no way to “win” this experience, instead the goal is to exploreand enjoy the feeling of being a time traveler in a world spinningaround the axis of music.

EXAMPLE

Imagine you are Columbus, or Magellan—exploring the world, charting newroutes, making new discoveries; but instead of charting geography,imagine your objective is to explore, chart, and discover the world ofmusic and to share your findings with a community.

An embodiment of the invention gives each user interactive curatorialtools, and access to myriad multimedia assets through content/archivepartnerships. In this way, the user can share music knowledge with thecommunity at large. In this example, users have two goals:

1. Chart the musical world; and

2. Rise in rank based on the number of followers and/or other users wholike the user's page.

Initially, the music GPS feature of the invention, also referred to asthe digital music atlas, serves as the playing board and is seeded by aboard of editors with particular knowledge of a certain genre, time, orplace in music history. This gives the playing board a baseline of areasto explore. Thereafter, it is up to the community to seed the rest ofthe playing board, i.e. the digital music atlas or music GPS, withknowledge of certain genres, times, or places in music history, i.e. nocurator has yet introduced a page on Madagascar, but someone then startsto curate a page associated with that geographical location. Eventuallysomeone else comes and stakes a claim to that area of world music, andthe two curators are then in competition with one another for curatorcontrol of that portion of the world. The community decides who is amore trusted source on the subject by ranking the more trusted curatorhigher than the other curator.

How are they ranked?

Users, who are also referred to as Curators or Explorers, are judged bythe community based on several different factors, including but notlimited to:

a.) Their community approval rating and/or number of followers;

b.) Their depth of knowledge;

c.) Their diversity of knowledge;

d.) Their curatorial skills;

e.) The number and diversity of multimedia assets they incorporate intotheir pages, and maps;

f.) The number of pages or maps that are repurposed or quoted by otherusers;

g.) The number of recommends they receive;

h.) The number of intellectual contributions they make;

i.) The number of archive materials they contribute to the community;

j.) The number of articles published;

k.) The amount of commerce driven from their page, etc.

In the same way that Foursquare users are ranked based on theirfrequency of visits to a particular place or number of places in aneighborhood by being made mayor of that place, users of this embodimentof the invention are ranked based on their intellectual knowledge andcontributions to the community, and the community's approval ordisapproval of those contributions.

A game challenge can take the following form when presented to thecommunity: Tunesmap: charting the Music World and changing the way weexperience music online, at home, and on-the-go. WANTED: anyone whothinks that they know something about music history, and who wants tocompete in a race to chart the Music World. Tunesmap gives you the toolsto share your knowledge and match-up against the experts. The communitydecides who rules the Music World. External Application Integration

Integration of the invention with a popular procurement service, such asApple iTunes is shown in FIG. 14. The unique experience provided by thepresently preferred embodiment of the invention proposes to inspire andmotivate the user though the synergistic effect of combining artist,time, location, and genre in the presentation of related items ofculture, many of which are or can be made available for purchase. Toencourage this inspired and motivated behavior on the part of the userthe procurement service user interface is extended with the Mapinterface 1101. The fundamental relationship of music 1102 provides asearch filter, with items of interest available under their respectiveprimary categories and supporting elements 1103.

A profound result of this synergy is to increase the probability ofprocurement of music and music related items available through both theexternal and internal services, such as the external service shown inFIG. 14, as well as the primary category internal shopping element 306of FIG. 5 that provides access to additional external procurementservices.

Audio interaction with the media database

FIG. 15 shows a system for voice interaction with the media database 20in FIG. 1. The system 1500 can receive a voice command 1510 issued by auser and can interpret the voice command 1510 using a context 1520before accessing the media database 20.

The media database 20 can include the core elements 1530, primaryelements 1540, and supporting elements 1550, comments, details, curatormedia type, etc. as described in this application. In addition, eachelement 1530, 1540, 1550 can include speech recognition data 1532, 1542,1552, and importance data 1534, 1544, 1554, such as priority and ratingdata. The speech recognition data 1532, 1542, 1552 can include phonemesassociated with the elements 1530, 1540, 1550 as well as alternatepronunciation and short names. For example, if the core element 1530includes an artist name “Sade”, the speech recognition data 1532 caninclude the phoneme pronunciation /∫a:'deI/, as well as alternatephoneme pronunciations such as /sa:de/, /seId/. The priority and ratingdata can be curated by a curator/editor, as explained in thisapplication, or can be automatically generated based on popularity ofthe corresponding item, as discussed below.

The context 1520 can be obtained from several sources such as thecurrent state of the system 1560, data prioritization 1570, user profile1580, or weight 1590 of an item provided by a curator/editor, etc. Thecurrent state of the system 1560 can include the song currently playedor a user interface item with which the user is currently interactingsuch as scrolling clusters.

For example, if the user is currently listening to a song by the Beatlessuch as “Hey Jude,” data associated with the Beatles will be prioritizedover data not associated with the Beatles. If the user says “Mary,”information about the song “Let It Be” can be shown to the user.

Scrolling clusters can move across a screen and can represent popularitems, most recent items, items most likely to be interesting to theuser in the database 20, and/or data prioritized by the system based ondata prioritization 1570. A scrolling cluster can be an image and/orvideo, or a collection of images and/or videos representing an item inthe database. The scrolling cluster can be selectable. When the userselects the scrolling cluster, more information relevant to thescrolling cluster can be displayed. For example, if the user islistening to the song “Let It Be,” and a scrolling cluster representingthe cover of the album “Let It Be” can be shown to the user. Once theuser selects the “Let It Be” cluster, the system can display moreinformation about the album.

The scrolling clusters can be prioritized as relevant to the currentuser, or the current song, current artist, current time, current genre,current place, current events or anything the system knows about thecurrent moment. The scrolling clusters can be created by editors,curators, artists, etc. from the database 20. The editors, curators,artists, etc. can also add their own materials to the database 20 andput together a narrative that is a sequence of the media itemsinterspersed with text commentary that tells a story of a particularscene, particular artist or a moment that was captured by a photographeror an album, etc. The scrolling cluster can be selected by a user andcan define the current context. For example, if the system is playing asong that is related to San Francisco in 1967, and the media database 20contains scrolling cluster content related to San Francisco in 1967, thescrolling cluster content can be considered part of the current contextand rated higher than some other related items in the database.

The user can use voice commands to select a scrolling cluster. Forexample, the user can read a text contained in a scrolling cluster tomake a selection, or another user can issue a command such as “selectscrolling cluster San Francisco.”

The data prioritization 1570 can be a measure of popularity of aparticular item in the database, such as a particular artist, aparticular song, a genre, etc. For example, data prioritization can beobtained from an external popularity database such as a Billboard chart.Data can also be prioritized according to a number of visits to anartist's web page over a period of time, such as daily, monthly, orannual visits. Data can also be prioritized according to a number ofwebpages referencing a webpage dedicated to an artist or a song. Inaddition, data prioritization 1570 can be obtained from the database 20.For example, data prioritization 1570 can be based on most popular itemsin the database 20, such as most popular artists, songs, genres, timeperiods, average amount of time users spend engaging with the content,etc. For example, if certain content presented to the users is skippedimmediately, such as the average time spent with the content is lessthan 20 seconds, the system can conclude that the content is notpopular. However, if users spend a considerable amount of time, such ashalf an hour or more interacting with the content, the system canconclude that the content is popular. The popular content can beprioritized over the unpopular content.

The user profile 1580 can include a history of a user's interaction withthe database 20; a user's demographic information such as age, gender,location, race, etc.; or a user's musical preferences such as favoriteartists, favorite songs, frequently listened to music, playlists, etc.Data prioritization 1570 can be based on the user profile 1580. Forexample, if the user is a fan of Taylor Swift and the user says “play asong,” the system 1500 can prioritize a Taylor Swift song to play.

The weights 1590 can be provided by the curator/editor. Thecurator/editor can assign weights to the data available in the database20 such as core elements 1530 of time, place, genre, and artist; primaryelements 1540; and supporting elements 1550; etc. The weights assignedby the curator/editor can be in turn modified by the rank of thecurator/editor. For example, two curators can assign weights to the sameartist, and the weights will be modified by the relative rankings of thecurators. Curator 1 can assign a weight to the artist Kanye West as 0.9on a 0 to 1 scale, while curator 2 can assign a weight of 0.5 on the 0to 1 scale. The rank of the curator 1 is 163 out of 1057, while the rankof the curator 2 is 5 out of 1057. The weight of the curator 2 would begiven more importance, and the resulting weight assigned to the artistKanye West can be computed to be 0.56, closer to the weight assigned bycurator 2.

FIG. 16 shows example voice commands that can be used in the system.Voice commands 1600 can take in various parameters. For example, voicecommands 1610 can take as a parameter: core elements, primary elements,supporting elements, comments, details, curator media type, and otherdata types available in the database 20 in FIG. 15. Other commands 1620such as “context” can tell you the current context 1520 in FIG. 5,through which the voice command is being interpreted. Command 1630,“zoom,” can take two parameters: 1) “in”/“out” to specify the directionof the zoom, and 2) an identification (ID) specifying an object in thephoto to which to zoom. Other commands 1640 can be interpreted without aspecified parameter.

FIG. 17 shows an example of the context. As explained in FIG. 15, thecontext 1700 can be obtained from the current state of the system orcurrent song that is playing. The current state of the system caninclude a current search performed by the user. The context 1700 caninclude the core elements 1530 in FIG. 15, such as time 1710, place andlocation 1720, artist 1730. The context can include cluster 1740, whichcan represent genre, or a cluster of related database items such assongs, albums, artists, etc. The context 1700 can also includeadditional information such as song 1750, album 1760, and useridentification (ID) 1770. User ID 1770 can be used to create and utilizethe user profile as described in FIG. 15.

The context 1700 containing multiple elements 1710, 1720, 1730, 1740,1750, 1760, 1770 can be used to disambiguate a search. For example, thedatabase 20 can contain multiple items that are related to each other,such as a news article about a man who is arrested in Golden Gate Parkdressed as a white rabbit, and a picture of a person dressed as a whiterabbit at a Jefferson Airplane concert. If the context 1700 is thecurrent context, the picture of the person at the Jefferson airplaneconcert will be prioritized higher than the news article, because thepicture of the person will be related to the artist 1730 part of thecontext 1700, and possibly to album 1760, cluster 1740, and user 1770part of the context 1700, as opposed to the news article which wouldlikely have no relation to the artist 1730.

FIGS. 18A-18B show a visual representation of information contained inthe database 20 in FIG. 15. The visual information can include scrollingclusters as described in this application. For example, while the systemis playing the song “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan, visualrepresentation 1800, 1810 can be presented to the user. The visualrepresentation 1800, 1810 can be animated by, for example, scrollingacross the screen.

The visual representation 1800, 1810 can represent one or more of thecore elements 1530 in FIG. 15, primary elements 1540 in FIG. 15, andsupporting elements 1550 in FIG. 15 including comments, details, mediatype, etc. Visual representation 1800, 1810 can be categorized accordingto the core elements 1530, primary elements 1540, and/or supportingelements 1550.

For example, visual representation 1800, 1810 is categorized accordingto the supporting elements 1550 and the primary elements 1540. Thecategorization using supporting elements 1550 includes categorizationbased on media type, such as articles 1820, photos 1830, or videos 1840.The categorization using the primary elements 1540 includescategorization based on the artist, specifically, “related to Bob Dylan”1850.

The user can select using a graphical user interface or a voice userinterface a category 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850 to explore further.Alternatively, the user can select a specific item 1860 (only onelabeled for brevity) to explore further.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a method to present to the user and to enablethe user to navigate temporal and geographic information relevant to anaudio being played. In step 1900, a processor can register collectionsof music and music-related information in a database and make thecollections of music and music-related information available to users.The collections of music and music-related information can be classifiedin the database by time, location, genre, and artist.

In step 1910, the processor can generate a navigation facility, as shownin FIGS. 7A-14, for user selection of a combination of the time, thelocation, the genre, and the artist in connection with the collectionsof music and the music-related information. The navigation facility caninclude an audio interface, or a graphical user interface.

In step 1920, the processor can present to the user at least oneanimated visual representation depicting the time, the place, the genre,the artist, and the culture in connection with the music-relatedinformation. In addition, the processor can present to the user, inresponse to the user selection, a map that includes images of music,history, and culture, wherein the culture presented on the map includesimages of fashion, film, literature, music, and news.

The processor can receive an audio input, such as speech, recordedspeech, podcasts, etc. and can convert the audio to text to obtain anaudio with subtitles. Based on the text, the processor can create tagsand add them to the audio with subtitles. The tags can correspond to thecore elements 1530 in FIG. 15, primary elements 1540 in FIG. 15, andsupporting elements 1550 in FIG. 15. For example, a recorded interviewwith Bob Dylan can be tagged with core element “artist,” specifically“Bob Dylan,” and/or a core element “time”, specifically “1965.” Theinterview can also be tagged with a primary element “shopping,”specifically a link to a website selling Bob Dylan's music.

Based on the audio with subtitles and/or tags, the processor can findthe other elements in the database, such as core elements 1530, primaryelements 1540, and/or supporting elements 1550, that have the same orsimilar tags, and the processor can create connections in the database.The processor can store the received audio input in the database and theconnections between the audio input and other elements in the database.Next time the processor plays the audio input, the processor can providethe elements related to the audio input as the visual representationaccompanying the reproduced audio input.

The processor can receive an audio input such as speech, recordedspeech, podcasts, etc. and can interpret the audio input using speechrecognition data 1532, 1542, 1552 in FIG. 15, such as a phonemepronunciation stored in the database 20, and a context 1520 in FIG. 15.

The processor can also receive an audio input including music, such asvocal music, instrumental music, and/or a hummed tune, etc. Theprocessor can identify an element in the database related to the audioinput. The element can be a core element, such as 1850 in FIG. 18A, aprimary element 1540 in FIG. 15, or a supplemental element, such as1820, 1830, 1840 in FIGS. 18A, 18B. Upon retrieving the element, theprocessor can present an animated visual representation of the elementto the user, such as shown in FIGS. 18A, 18B. The animation can bescrolling, fading, morphing, etc.

The presentation of the visual representation including the animation ofthe visual presentation can be based on ranking of the elements relatedto the audio input. The processor can rank information presented to theuser including time, place, genre, and/or artist, based on a userprofile, and importance provided by a curator or popularity. Thepopularity can be measured based on popularity within the database 20,or based on popularity from an external database and/or the Internet.The processor can animate the visual representation based on saidranking. For example, the processor can display the most popularinformation first, the processor can display the most popularinformation for a longer period of time than less popular information,the processor can repeat display of the more popular information, etc.

The processor can determine a mode of operation of a dual-mode systemassociated with the processor. A first mode of the dual-mode systemincludes receiving an audio extrinsic to the dual-mode system as aninput to the dual-mode system. A second mode of the dual-mode systemincludes receiving an audio emitted by the dual-mode system as the inputto the dual-mode system. The second mode is a self-referential mode,where the audio output by the system is used as an input to the system.The audio can be speech, humming, podcasts, music, etc. To determine themode of the system, the processor can receive an input from the userindicating the mode of operation. For example, the processor can receivea button press, menu selection, or a voice command from the userindicating the mode of operation. Alternatively, the processor canautomatically determine the mode of operation, as described below.

When the processor determines that the mode of operation is the secondmode, the processor can receive the audio emitted by the dual-modesystem as the input to the dual-mode system. The processor can identifyin the database multiple elements providing additional information aboutthe received audio. The elements can include the time, the location, thegenre, or the artist. Elements can be core elements 1530 in FIG. 15,primary elements 1540 in FIG. 15, and/or supporting elements 1550 inFIG. 15. The processor can provide a visual representation of theelements, such as an image or an animation.

When the processor determines that the mode of operation is the firstmode, the processor can receive the audio extrinsic to the dual-modesystem as the input. The audio extrinsic to the dual-mode system can bespeech (such as recorded speech), humming, vocal music, instrumentalmusic, etc. The processor can identify whether the input is a command ora search query.

The processor can selectively perform the command or identify in thedatabase the multiple elements providing additional information aboutthe audio extrinsic to the dual-mode system. In other words, when theinput is categorized as the command, the processor can perform thecommand, and when the input is categorized as the search query, theprocessor can perform the search query.

After performing the search query, the processor can generate the visualrepresentation of the multiple elements.

The processor can determine whether the audio emitted by the dual-modesystem is represented within the database associated with the dual-modesystem. For example, the processor can check whether the audio emittedby the dual-mode system is stored in the database 20, or whether theaudio emitted by the dual-mode system has an identification (ID) in thesystem. When the audio emitted by the dual-mode system is notrepresented within the database, the processor can determine to operatein the second mode because there are no core, primary, or supportingelements connected to the emitted audio, and by operating a second mode,the processor can perform the search within the database to create thecore, primary and/or supporting elements associated with the emittedaudio.

When the audio emitted by the dual-mode is represented within thedatabase, the processor can determine whether the database contains oneor more elements associated with the audio. When the database does notcontain an element associated with the audio, the processor candetermine to operate in the second mode, because, again there are nocore, primary, or supporting elements connected to the emitted audio,and by operating a second mode, the processor can perform the searchwithin the database to create the core, primary and/or supportingelements associated with the emitted audio. Even when the databasecontains one or more elements associated with the audio, the processorcan compare the number of elements found to a criterion, and, based onthe comparison, the processor can determine to operate in the secondmode.

For example, the criterion can include a threshold number of elements.In other words, if the number of elements associated with the emittedaudio is below a predetermined number, such as 10, the processor canperform a search within the database to establish additional connectionsbetween the emitted audio and other elements in the database.

In another example, the criterion can include a threshold number ofelements associated with a category. The category can correspond to acore element 1530, a primary element 1540 or a supporting element 1550.For example, the criterion can require having five elements in each ofthe core categories of the time, the location, the genre or the artist.If, for example, the genre and the location each have 7 and 8 elementsrespectively, but the time and the artist have less than 5 elements, theprocessor can determine that the criterion is not satisfied and performa search within the database to establish additional connections in thetime and the artist categories.

Computer Implementation

FIG. 20 is a block schematic diagram of a machine in the exemplary formof a computer system 2000 within which a set of instructions for causingthe machine to perform any one of the foregoing methodologies may beexecuted. In alternative embodiments, the machine may include a networkrouter, a network switch, a network bridge, personal digital assistant(PDA), a cellular telephone, a Web appliance or any machine capable ofexecuting or transmitting a sequence of instructions that specifyactions to be taken.

The computer system 2000 includes a processor 2002, a main memory 2004and a static memory 2006, which communicate with each other via a bus2008. The computer system 2000 may further include a display unit 2010,for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT).The computer system 2000 also includes an alphanumeric input device2012, for example, a keyboard; a cursor control device 2014, forexample, a mouse; a disk drive unit 2016, a signal generation device2018, for example, a speaker, and a network interface device 2028.

The disk drive unit 2016 includes a machine-readable medium 2024 onwhich is stored a set of executable instructions, i.e. software, 2026embodying any one, or all, of the methodologies described herein below.The software 2026 is also shown to reside, completely or at leastpartially, within the main memory 2004 and/or within the processor 2002.The software 2026 may further be transmitted or received over a network2030 by means of a network interface device 2028.

In contrast to the system 2000 discussed above, a different embodimentuses logic circuitry instead of computer-executed instructions toimplement processing entities. Depending upon the particularrequirements of the application in the areas of speed, expense, toolingcosts, and the like, this logic may be implemented by constructing anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having thousands of tinyintegrated transistors. Such an ASIC may be implemented withcomplementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), transistor-transistorlogic (TTL), very large systems integration (VLSI), or another suitableconstruction. Other alternatives include a digital signal processingchip (DSP), discrete circuitry (such as resistors, capacitors, diodes,inductors, and transistors), field programmable gate array (FPGA),programmable logic array (PLA), programmable logic device (PLD), and thelike.

It is to be understood that embodiments may be used as or to supportsoftware programs or software modules executed upon some form ofprocessing core (such as the CPU of a computer) or otherwise implementedor realized upon or within a machine or computer readable medium. Amachine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine, e.g. acomputer. For example, a machine readable medium includes read-onlymemory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media;optical storage media; flash memory devices; electrical, optical,acoustical or other form of propagated signals, for example, carrierwaves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.; or any other type ofmedia suitable for storing or transmitting information.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to thepreferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat other applications may be substituted for those set forth hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.For example, although an embodiment of the invention disclosed herein isconcerned with music, those skilled in the art will appreciate that theinvention is readily applicable to, for example, but not by way oflimitation, fashion, film, art, news, comedy, books, healthcare,politics, government, corporate and other human enterprises, and theenvironment.

1. A computer-implemented method for temporal and geographicpresentation and navigation of linked cultural, artistic, and historiccontent, comprising: providing a processor configured to registercollections of music and music-related information in a database and tomake the collections of music and the music-related informationavailable to users, wherein the collections of music and themusic-related information are classified in the database by all of time,location, genre, and artist; the processor configured to provide anavigation facility for user selection of a combination of all of thetime, the location, the genre, and the artist in connection with thecollections of music and the music-related information, and forgenerating and presenting to a user in response to the user selection acorresponding map that includes independent images of all of music, itshistory, and culture with regard to the collections of music and themusic-related information, wherein the navigation facility comprises anaudio interface; wherein the culture presented on the map in response tothe user selection comprises results that include independent images ofall of fashion, film, literature, music, and news; wherein the processoris configured to generate and present to the user at least one animatedmural comprising the images that depict a fundamental combination of thetime, the location, the genre, the artist, and the culture in connectionwith the music-related information; wherein the animated mural comprisesa dynamically animated selection of the images derived from the userselection; and wherein the images further comprise any of regions,cities, artists, news items, fashion trends, movies, books, and genresof art.
 2. A computer-implemented method comprising: registering acollection of music and music-related information in a database andmaking the collection of music and the music-related informationavailable to users, wherein the collection of music and themusic-related information are classified in the database by time,location, genre and artist; and generating a navigation facility for auser selection of a combination of the time, the location, the genre,and the artist in connection with the collection of music and themusic-related information, wherein the navigation facility comprises anaudio interface; presenting to a user, in response to the userselection, at least one visual representation depicting the time, thelocation, the genre and the artist, in connection with the music-relatedinformation.
 3. The method of claim 2, comprising: receiving an audioinput; converting the audio input to text to obtain an audio withsubtitles; based on the audio with subtitles, finding the collection ofmusic or the music-related information stored in the database andrelating to the audio with subtitles; and presenting the collection ofmusic or the music-related information to the user.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the audio input comprises a podcast.
 5. The method ofclaim 2, comprising: receiving an audio input; interpreting the audioinput using a phoneme pronunciation stored in the database and acontext.
 6. The method of claim 2, comprising: receiving an audio inputcomprising music; identifying an element in the database related to theaudio input; and presenting an animated visual representation of theelement to the user.
 7. The method of claim 2, said presenting to theuser at least one animated visual representation comprising: rankinginformation presented to the user comprising the time, the location, thegenre and the artist, based on an importance provided by a curator, apopularity of the information presented to the user, or a user profile;and animating the visual representation based on said ranking.
 8. Themethod of claim 2, comprising: determining a mode of operation of adual-mode system, wherein a first mode of the dual-mode system comprisesreceiving an audio extrinsic to the dual-mode system as an input to thedual-mode system, and a second mode of the dual-mode system comprisesreceiving an audio emitted by the dual-mode system as the input to thedual-mode system; upon determining that the mode of operation is thesecond mode, receiving the audio emitted by the dual-mode system as theinput to the dual-mode system; identifying in the database a pluralityof elements providing additional information about the received audio,the plurality of elements including the time, the location, the genre,or the artist; and providing a visual representation of the plurality ofelements.
 9. The method of claim 8, comprising: upon determining thatthe mode of operation is the first mode, receiving the audio extrinsicto the dual-mode system as the input; identifying whether the input is acommand or a search query; selectively performing the command oridentifying in the database the plurality of elements providingadditional information about the audio extrinsic to the dual-modesystem; and upon said identifying, generating the visual representationof the plurality of elements.
 10. The method of claim 8, saiddetermining comprising: determining whether the audio emitted by thedual-mode system is represented within the database associated with thedual-mode system; and when the audio emitted by the dual-mode system isnot represented within the database, determining to operate in thesecond mode.
 11. The method of claim 8, said determining comprising:determining whether the audio emitted by the dual-mode system isrepresented within the database associated with the dual-mode system;when the audio emitted by the dual-mode system is represented within thedatabase, determining whether the database contains one or more elementsassociated with the audio; and when the database does not contain anelement associated with the audio, determining to operate in the secondmode.
 12. The method of claim 8, said determining comprising:determining whether the audio emitted by the dual-mode system isrepresented within the database associated with the dual-mode system;when the audio emitted by the dual-mode system is represented within thedatabase, determining whether the database contains one or more elementsassociated with the audio; and comparing the one or more elements to acriterion, and, based on the comparison, determining to operate in thesecond mode.
 13. The method of claim 12, the criterion comprising athreshold number of elements, or a threshold number of elementsassociated with a category.
 14. A system comprising a processorconfigured to: register a collection of music and music-relatedinformation in a database and make the collection of music and themusic-related information available to users, wherein the collection ofmusic and the music-related information are classified in the databaseby time, location, genre, and artist; and generate a navigation facilityfor user selection of a combination of the time, the location, thegenre, and the artist in connection with the collection of music and themusic-related information, and to present to a user in response to theuser selection a map that includes images of music, history, andculture, wherein the culture presented on the map comprises images offashion, film, literature, music, and news, wherein the navigationfacility comprises an audio interface; and present to the user at leastone visual representation depicting the time, the location, the genre,the artist, and the culture in connection with the music-relatedinformation.
 15. The system of claim 14, comprising the processorconfigured to: receive an audio input; convert the audio input to textto obtain an audio with subtitles; and based on the audio withsubtitles, find the collection of music or the music-related informationassociated with the text in the database.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the audio input comprises a podcast.
 17. The system of claim 14,comprising the processor configured to: receive an audio input;interpret the audio input using a phoneme pronunciation stored in thedatabase and a context.
 18. The system of claim 14, comprising theprocessor configured to: receive an audio input comprising music;identify an element in the database related to the audio input; andpresent an animated visual representation of the element to the user.19. The system of claim 14, said processor configured to present to theuser at least one animated visual representation comprising theprocessor configured to: rank information presented to the usercomprising the location, the time, the genre and the artist, based on animportance provided by a curator, a popularity of the informationpresented to the user or a user profile; animate the visualrepresentation based on said ranking.
 20. The system of claim 14,comprising: determining a mode of operation of a dual-mode system,wherein a first mode of the dual-mode system comprises receiving anaudio extrinsic to the dual-mode system as an input to the dual-modesystem, and a second mode of the dual-mode system comprises receiving anaudio emitted by the dual-mode system as the input to the dual-modesystem; upon determining that the mode of operation is the second mode,receiving the audio emitted by the dual-mode system as the input to thedual-mode system; identifying in the database a plurality of elementsproviding additional information about the received audio, the pluralityof elements including the time, the location, the genre, or the artist;and providing a visual representation of the plurality of elements.